Is wool protein or fiber?

The use of wool by human beings can be traced back to the Neolithic Age and spread from Central Asia to the Mediterranean and other parts of the world. It has become the main textile material in Asia and Europe. It is soft and flexible, and can be used to make fabrics such as wool, wool, blankets, felt and so on. It has the characteristics of plump handle, good warmth and comfortable to wear. Let's take a look at whether wool is protein or fiber.

Is wool protein or fiber?

Wool is protein. Wool is mainly composed of protein. Australia, the former Soviet Union, New Zealand, Argentina and China have a large output of wool in the world. According to their fineness and length, wool can be divided into five categories: fine wool, semi-fine wool, long wool, hybrid wool and coarse wool. There are Mongolian wool, Tibetan wool and Kazakh wool in China. The main factors to evaluate wool quality are fineness, curl, color, strength and grass content.

How is wool made?

1. Scale layer: the scale layer is the surface layer of wool and grows in a certain direction, pointing from the hairy root to the hairy tip. Each scale is connected with the cortical layer at one end of the hairy root, and the other end is stretched outward, covering and connecting one by one. The covering density of scales on wool varies greatly due to the variety of wool. The scale layer can also give the wool a good luster. The scale structure is tough, so that the wool has resistance to abrasion and contamination.

2. Cortical layer: the cortical layer is the main component of wool fiber, which is composed of many protein cells, which is called keratin or keratin. The cortical layer is the main part that determines the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of wool fiber, which can be divided into two kinds: orthocortical layer and paracortical layer. Those on the outside of the curly wave are called cortical cells and the medial ones are called paracortical cells. The sulfur content of the orthocortical layer is lower than that of the paracortical layer, so the chemical property is more active and easy to stain. The paracortical layer is on the contrary.

3. Medulla: medulla is a kind of opaque loose substance in the central part of wool fiber. In general, fine wool has no medullary layer, and thicker wool has different degrees of medulla. The more medulla, the more straight and rough the wool is, and the worse the quality is. Wool that contains a large amount of medulla is brittle, curly and withered is called dead hair.

The difference between wool and cashmere

The main results are as follows: 1. the scale arrangement of wool is tighter and thicker than that of cashmere, and its collapsibility is greater than that of cashmere. Cashmere fiber has small and smooth scales, and there is an air layer in the middle of the fiber, so it is light in weight and feels slippery and waxy.

2. The crimp degree of wool is smaller than that of cashmere, and the crimp number, curl curvature and crimp recovery rate of cashmere fiber are larger, which is suitable for processing into knitwear with plump, soft and elastic feel, comfortable and natural to wear, and has good reductive properties, especially in the aspects of no shrinkage after washing, good shape retention and so on.

3. The leather content of cashmere is higher than that of wool, and the rigidity of cashmere fiber is better than that of wool, that is, cashmere is softer than wool.

4. The fineness irregularity of cashmere is smaller than that of wool, and the appearance quality of cashmere products is better than that of wool.

5. The fineness of cashmere fiber is uniform, its density is smaller than that of wool, the cross section is regular and round, and its products are lighter and thinner than wool products.

6. Cashmere has better hygroscopicity than wool, can fully absorb dyes, is not easy to fade, high moisture regain and high resistance.

7. The acid and alkali resistance of wool is better than that of cashmere, and the damage of wool is less than that of cashmere when exposed to oxidizer and reducing agent.

8. Generally speaking, the pilling resistance of wool products is better than that of cashmere products, but the felting shrinkage is larger.